The competent authority currently has no policy to continue separating or merging provinces and communes, and will maintain stability for many years to come, according to Nguyen Khac Dinh, vice chairman of the National Assembly. He urged media agencies to clearly communicate this to avoid public anxiety, noting that the country currently has 34 provinces and cities, along with 3,321 commune-level units.

This announcement came during the Standing Committee of the National Assembly's discussion on the afternoon of 24/12 regarding draft resolutions on administrative unit standards and urban classification. Minister of Construction Tran Hong Minh reported that following the 2025 arrangement, the number of commune-level units nationwide has decreased from 10,035 to 3,321.

According to the drafting agency, the administrative unit arrangement and the implementation of a two-tier local government model have significantly altered the structure of development space, governance models, and urban management scope. The urban system is shifting towards multi-centered, regionally linked, and expanded spaces, necessitating adjustments and updates to the classification criteria to accurately reflect these new characteristics, roles, and development spaces.

The elimination of district-level organizations, coupled with the enhanced roles of provincial and commune levels, has also changed management authority, urban development organization, and public service provision. Therefore, it is essential to clearly define urban classification criteria and standards linked to provincial and commune levels, ensuring consistency and synchronicity in urban development management and evaluation.

Vice Chairman Nguyen Khac Dinh emphasized that while the two draft resolutions are complex, their issuance at this time is crucial due to changes in the Law on Organization of Local Government and the urban system. He stressed that the resolutions aim to serve socio-economic development management, not to continue administrative unit arrangements.

Vice Chairman of the National Assembly Nguyen Khac Dinh. Photo: Hoang Phong

Phan Van Mai, chairman of the Economic and Finance Committee, concurred with this view, stating that the resolutions serve development management and are not intended for future mergers. He also called for effective communication to reassure local authorities. Mai also agreed on updating urban classification based on function and identity, proposing framework regulations for the government to concretize, highlighting the role of special cities like Hanoi and TP HCM in global urban networks.

Vice Chairman Nguyen Thi Thanh noted that criteria such as population, area, and economic structure remain important foundations for urban classification. However, she suggested adding new criteria for planning, governance, and resource allocation. She pointed out that the current draft leans towards population size and construction density, not fully reflecting quality of life, environmental management capacity, resilience to flooding, and pollution. Therefore, she advocated for concretizing criteria for smart, green, and modern cities, to address situations where cities pursue classification without corresponding improvements in quality.

Concluding the discussion, the Standing Committee of the National Assembly approved in principle the two draft resolutions. The drafting and verification agencies were tasked with further refining them and seeking written feedback from the Standing Committee for promulgation. The resolutions are expected to take effect from 1/1/2026.

Son Ha